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Traveler's TB less severe than doctors originally thought

New tests show the globe-trotting American lawyer who caused an international health scare by traveling with what was diagnosed as a dangerous form of tuberculosis has a less severe form of the disease, doctors said.

The dramatic announcement on Tuesday from physicians treating Andrew Speaker raised questions about the accuracy of the diagnosis by US government health officials who had ordered Speaker quarantined in May.

But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stood by its earlier test and its action to isolate Speaker. And both Speaker's doctor in Denver and an official with the CDC who appeared at a news conference said the public health response should be the same for both forms of drug-resistant TB.

"The public health actions that CDC took in this case, and are continuing to take, are sound and appropriate," said the CDC's Dr. Mitchell Cohen.

For the patient himself, the news that he apparently has a more treatable form of TB means he may avoid surgery and has a much better chance for a cure.

"These new test results are good news for Mr. Speaker. His prognosis has improved," said Dr. Charles Daley, who is treating Speaker at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center.

"We now have more effective medications available to fight his disease and may be able to treat him successfully without surgery," he said.

It was also good news for any airline passengers who might have caught TB from Speaker while on one of his trans-Atlantic flights in May. The new diagnosis means their TB also stands a better chance of being treated, Daley said. Cohen said the CDC won't know until late July or August whether anyone may have contracted the disease from the 31-year-old Atlanta lawyer.

In a statement, Speaker said he was relieved by the diagnosis.

However, he also gave a harsh critique of the government's handling of the case.

"In the future I hope they realize the terribly chilling effect they can have when they come after someone and their family on a personal level. They can, in a few days, destroy an entire family's reputation, ability to make a living and good name," he said.

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night, Speaker said he believed the CDC needed to apologize.

"I think they owe apologies to the people that they scared," he said. "They scared, you know, millions of people around the world."

Speaker was diagnosed with extensively drug-resistant TB, in May. The XDR-TB, as it is called, is rare, extremely difficult to treat and is a growing public health threat.

But later tests in Denver indicate Speaker's TB is a slightly more treatable form of the disease, multidrug-resistant TB, which can be treated with some antibiotics that the more severe form resists.
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